Alishan Midnight Sun ( Lightly Roasted Jin Xuan)
Milk oolong tea is also called Nai Xian Jin Xuan tea, because it is made from Jin Xuan tea and Nai Xian is direct translated from Chinese for milk.
Jin Xuan oolong is TTES no. 12, which is a new successful breed and put forward to market by Taiwan Tea Experiment Station in 1981. Due to its experiment code is 2027, most people call it 27. It is one of four tea cultivars in Taiwan.
LIGHTLY ROASTED
Lightly Roasted tea has undergone 1-2 intervals of being baked for several hours at low temperature. This transforms the character of the tea from fresh green to a mellowed, more full-bodied brew.
The Jin Xuan cultivar is well known by tea lovers around the world for its creamy, milky and buttery flavour and mouthfeel. It is often imitated with a different (cheaper) oolong which is combined with artificial flavouring. Occasionally the tea vendor is honest and sells it as a scented Oolong but most will tell ridiculous stories that the tea was fed or steamed over milk during processing. This is nonsense and we would recommend that you avoid any shop that feeds you lies about tea.
We have a deliciously creamy Jin Xuan tea called Alishan Cream for those interested in tasting this remarkable cultivar.
This tea is something very special and the result of our tea experimentation. We have taken the Jin Xuan tea and roasted over charcoal in the Taiwanese tradition. The tea that this produces is beautifully complex yet balanced and smooth.
The flavour profile is forever shifting. The flash of sweet orange aroma moves to the deeper sweetness of raisins and then into the indulgence of buttered popcorn, cream and dessicated coconut. Molasses and honey comes to the fore with the ever present roasted charcoal enveloping everything with a soft and smooth tone which does not mask but blends the flavours.
EYES - DRY LEAF
Small rolled, matt taupe brown leaves.
NOSE - DRY LEAF
Carob and nougat.
NOSE - WET LEAF
Chocolate malt milkshake, pecans and dried mulberries.
EYES - LIQUOR
Whisky gold.
MOUTH - TEXTURE
Thick and coating.
MOUTH - TASTE
Roasted nuts, crème brulee and pandan leaves.
NOSE - EMPTY CUP
Burnt caramel, hazelnuts and custard.
MOUTH - FINISH
Dry transforming to tingling, minty juiciness.
EYES - WET LEAF
Taupe brown and glossy, medium leaves.
BODY SENSATION
Indulgent, comforting and calming satisfaction.
SEASON
Winter 2024
CULTIVAR
Jin Xuan
ORIGIN
Alishan, Chiayi, Taiwan
PICKING & PROCESSING
Up to third or fourth leaf
ELEVATION
1400m
Brewing Directions:
You can use any kind of tea pot, but clay tea pot suits much better.
Warm up the teapot with the boiling water, put 3 grams of tea, and pour a small amount of the boiling water into the tea and pour out, then pour 250 ml of boiling water and cover the tea pot for three minutes before serving.
Boiling temperature – 85-95°C (185-203°F). You can use this amount of tea 3 to 4 times.
The tea leaves come unrolled for full flavor.
Additional information
This is one of the traditional ways of brewing. Depending on individual gustatory preferences you can you can vary brewing time from 35s to 5 minutes.
You can also use the Taiwanese traditional way of brewing - spilling, using Gaiwan, and brewing for 3-5 seconds each time.
Please note that it is natural tea with a high content of active elements, including caffeine and minerals, and some unusual feelings could appear. In that case, we recommend decreasing the quantity of dry leaves and brewing time.